Trucks: Take a brake

If letter-writer George
Burns (HCN, 6/9/97) wants to have the whole west rim of Hells
Canyon open to him and his buddies in their trucks, he ought to
just say so. Even though we still wouldn't agree, those of us who
desperately cling to the last 12 miles of nonmotorized rim could
respect that. But apparently due to the absence of good support for
his cause of adding another six or seven miles of the rim to the 38
miles he and his truck already have, he has misrepresented some
important issues:

* There is no language in the
act of law that created the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
that even remotely implies an intent, as he says, "for all existing
rim roads and viewpoints to remain open." It most certainly didn't
say that people should be able to drive motor vehicles to
viewpoints within the wilderness area.

* If the
inclusion of the "primitive one-lane dirt road" within the
wilderness area is a "mapping error," then Congress made the same
blunder twice. After the Hells Canyon Wilderness was designated in
1975, controversy boiled over the exact location of the boundary in
no uncertain terms. At that time Congress drew the road within the
boundary as it had many other primitive roads now within the Hells
Canyon Wilderness. There is absolutely no evidence which indicates
the inclusion of this road within the wilderness was an
error.

* Dr. Burns is flat wrong when he says
that "elk numbers are actually increasing over all of this area."
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk herds
are diminished both in numbers and gender ratios, and one of the
primary causes is the proliferation of roads.

*
The statement that "Virtually everyone in this area shares the view
that the rim road should be re-opened," could only be substantiated
if Dr. Burns considers "everyone" to mean everyone who agrees with
him. The local opposition to the road being opened is more diverse
and abundant than for any other natural resource issue I can
remember in my 20 years here. It includes the Nez Perce Tribe,
local ranchers, local hunters, conservationists, wildlife
biologists, even a locally based company that runs motorized tours
along the rim! Public opinion surveys consistently show an
overwhelming majority in opposition to more roads and motorized
recreation in the Hells Canyon area.

The terms
"distorted and prejudiced" that Burns uses certainly do not apply
to Scott Stouder's story. Your readers deserve accuracy, even in
letters to the editor.